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1998 SESSION

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SB 165 Excellence in public schools.

Introduced by: Emily Couric | all patrons    ...    notes | add to my profiles

SUMMARY:

Excellence in public schools. Revises the Standards of Quality and other education provisions to incorporate the following recommendations of the HJR 196 Commission on the Future of Public Education: (i) the Board of Education is to establish Standards of Learning (SOL) for an articulated technological studies program in grades K-12; (ii) SOLs for vocational education are to require the full integration of English, mathematics, science and social studies SOLs and incorporate a process for assessments, reporting, and consequences, and all occupational vocational programs shall be aligned with industry and professional standard certification by the year 2002; (iii) SOLs in all subject areas are to be subject to regular review and revision; (iv) SOL assessments are to evaluate critical thinking and the application of knowledge and skills, and the Board, with the assistance of independent, nationally recognized testing experts, is to conduct a regular analysis and validation process for SOL assessments; (v) requirements for a standard or advanced studies high school diploma are to include one credit in fine, performing, or practical arts; (vi) requirements for a standard high school diploma are to include a concentration of courses reflecting a focused career preparation sequence in career, technical, or arts education developed by the respective school divisions consistent with Board guidelines; (vii) the Superintendent of Public Instruction is to report on the progress of Virginia's schools in improving or failing to improve student learning performance, including an analysis of the strengths and weaknesses of public education programs in the various school divisions in Virginia, and make recommendations to the General Assembly for further enhancing student learning uniformly across the Commonwealth; (viii) school boards are to provide, and students who fail to achieve a passing score on the Standards of Learning exam in grades 3, 5, and 8 shall be required to attend, remediation programs held outside of normal school hours; (ix) school boards must provide summer school remediation for all elementary and middle school grades and for all high school academic courses; (x) the Board of Education is to set minimum standards for remediation courses; (xi) school boards are to biennially review the model student conduct code to incorporate a continuum of discipline options and alternatives; (xii) the Department of Education must conduct technical assistance visits to each school division on an established cycle; (xiii) school boards must employ at least one full-time educational technology expert for the school division; (xiv) school divisions must establish a voice mail communication system after regular school hours for parents, families, and teachers by the year 2000; (xv) effective for the 2004-2005 school year, promotion of any student failing the SOL end-of-course assessments for English or mathematics for grade 5 or 8 will be contingent upon the school's provision of, and the student's participation in, a structured remedial program; (xvi) principals, teachers, and other professional staff in schools experiencing three or more years of provisional accreditation may be reassigned to other schools; and (xvii) school divisions with one or more schools demonstrating a passing rate of less than 70 percent on all three Literacy Passport Tests by students taking these tests for the first time must develop comprehensive corrective action plans, including specific improvement goals, for implementation no later than 1999-2000, including specific goals for improvement; the Board may reward schools achieving specified improvement goals.


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